Nishimi Kaoru has moved from city to city and school to school because of his father’s job, so having his first day at a new school was just routine for him. Being intellectual in addition to being a transfer student all the time, he has always been seen as an outcast. All he has had to do was bear it as usual until the next time he moved. But things were slightly different this time. First, he started to get close to the class president, Mukae Ritsuko, and secondly, unlikely as it seemed, he grew closer to Kawabuchi Sentaro. Sentaro was infamous for getting into fights, skipping class and was an overall bad boy. Strangely enough, the three of them find common ground in music, namely jazz, and Kaoru finds himself actually enjoying the new town.

I still am absolutely perplexed about whether Ritsuko slept with that man or not. On one hand, not sleeping with him would parallel Kaoru refusing to sleep with that girl (who said "your girlfriend could be alone in a room with someone just like us"), and Ritsuko seems like the type to marry whoever takes her virginity (as was convention in that time). But on the other hand, her responses to Kaoru's letters were getting shorter and shorter, she used the line "I was lonely and let him come to my room" as an excuse for why he answered the phone, and she was guilty enough to break off contact entirely with Kaoru.

Therein lies the staggeringly bothersome conflict between the plot device used to launch a timeskip and the characters themselves. All logical rational leads one to assume that while Ritsuko did not consider herself dating that man, she was regularly having sex with him during her correspondence with Kaoru. Which happens to be incredibly out of character for Ritsuko, so much so to create a permanent blemish on an otherwise great manga.

There was that time where it seemed like Yurika was sleeping with Jun-nii (t to the shock and horror of Sentaro) and it turned out to be bs. But this is a josei manga so it's not unlikely that the male counterpart rejects his temptation whilst the female gives into hers (which is actually a literary trope since time immemorial; Adam and Eve for instance, but that's a discussion for a different day).

Sentaro basically gets screwed over. He loved Yurika, but she ends up with the guy he idolizes. Feels bad man. I didn't really care for Jun and found Sentaro to be much more deserving. Yurika choosing Jun over Sentaro just came off as shallow to me. It really sucked to see Jun gloating over their twins at the end because it clearly shows that Sentaro still loved Yurika.

Frankly how that ended gave this really good story its only blemish, but sadly too big a blemish so I had to deduct points. That whole plot pissed me off something fierce.

I never quite knew how it would come out until the end as the characters continued to develop organically and individually. Also, it was very enjoyable to watch the characters bond around shared skill development and passion. The practice scenes were so lively! I really liked the art then, and the rest of the time it's nice as well.

I don't rate it because idiosyncratic preferences are what knock points off this one. I liked that Ritsuko had her own, independent skill set and interests, but strongly disliked that she usually wound up in a kind of stereotypical tea-fetcher/caregiver position because the story focused on skills that she didn't share with the men. And what's up with the Catholic priest = morally considered person type so prevalent in manga? I guess christianity is a little exotic in Japan, but as someone raised in a stiflingly christian environment, it comes across as silly. Anyhow, these problematic tropes are hardly confined to this manga; it's just always annoying to see them endlessly repeated in even the best circumstances.

This manga was one of the best manga I've ever read, it's such pity that it's ended. I love every volume, every chapter, every page, every sentence, every word of this manga. Everything is great, realistic relationships and art is lovely and beautiful as well. I just can say Brilliant. wish to read more manga like this.

This manga has interesting characters, character dynamics, good pacing and a fresh feel to it.There is nothing major I can criticize this manga about.Only wish that the anime had not tried to adapt the series into just 12 episodes. As a result a lot of the detail to the Riku x Kaoru moments were sacrificed (amongst other scenes). Would rather they sacrificed screen time from the Junichi and Yurika storyline since Kaoru, Riku and Sentarou are the heart beat of this series. All this means is that I like the manga a lot more than the anime.

Romance is usually the driving point of most manga, but friendship is the core element of Sakamichi No Apollon. Others may find the concept of friends enjoying jazz in a 60s backdrop boring, but they'd have to know the characters to find out that this is truly a touching coming-of-age story. Both female and male readers would enjoy reading this. I just hope that some won't mistake Sen and Bon's close bond as something more than friendship. This manga shows that intimate friendships are not a matter of gender or age.

I usually have this thing against any manga that in any context othe than that of the 21st century, but that stuff doesn't even matter when you hold it up against this manga. It all seems insignificant when you have a manga this as close to perfection as this manga is. It is so so very rare that I don't have a problem with the ending of a manga as I didn't with this manga. It had me wanting more, but, at the same time, I felt happy that it ended there. It gave me a nice and fuzzy feeling. However, it's not much of an issue, but

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

I thought that Sentarou's disappearance towards the end was pretty generic.

Yet, at the same time,

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

it shows the depth of the emotions that he was hiding, I guess.

I would write more, but I think the other comments sum it up far better than I could. Just read this, no matter what obstacles you may face.

I had already watched the anime when I decided to read this, yet I still absolutely appreciate it. I finished it in one sitting, and came here to review right away.

Sakamichi no Apollon is the ultimate series, meaning you CANNOT ask for anything better in its kind.

I'm not exaggerating. The story started well. Developments between characters are amazing. Things continue to go on and on exhilaratingly non-stop; there is almost no point of 'stopping' like other series and it is still able to make it not too tiresome. Characters are real; they are alive; their thoughts are realistic. And being so real in a fictional story, in this case, is highly beneficial.

Thousands of series try hard to tell readers about 'love' and 'friendship', and have protagonists keeping talking about them, but can't make the readers feel. This series makes the difference by showing what they actually mean through the story; you can really feel the strong emotions of characters towards those words. The 'rhythm' of its storytelling is at the supreme level of excellence. Every single issue is put in its right place and time of the story. Things are revealed just about the time they should be. Changes take place everywhere appropriate for them on the timeline.

I realise I should mention jazz too. That part is probably the only thing that the anime does better job, because it has sound. Still, you can appreciate the music through silence of reading--not joking. You simply get the idea and concept of jazz through reading. It is also the primary element of pulling things in the story together.

Prepare for an emotional wave of stories hitting you one after another, with deeper and deeper impact on your heart as the story progresses. And before you know it, you will reach the emotionally beautiful ending.

The art is warm, suited the tone of the story and actually beautiful. It's not oh-so-freaking-special, but does that really matter? I usually say that a great manga of its kind usually suits its own style of art perfectly. The same goes for this series.

In brief, Sakamichi no Apollon is the greatest combination of drama, romance and friendship with all wide range in size of emotional impacts. You MUSTN'T miss it.

Crap, I even lowered my lastest 'favourite' Bartender in order to make this the one (of the two) instead! Let me repeat, it's a freaking masterpiece. I wish my country's publisher just had a license on this already that I would definitely not hesitate to buy.

its first time I read such a beautiful story. where life is sometimes comes unexpected but if you hold on what you really love, its always happiness in the end.Maybe if you haven't read it think its lame, but if you've gone to high school you can relate to the story..